JPH04150478A - Electronic image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce man-hour for development related to the its memory and, at the same time, to make the memory itself highly reliable by incorporating a storage having the same form of circuit block as that of a memory circuit section applied to a memory card in the image pickup device. CONSTITUTION:A main circuit board 14 for controlling the sequence of this image pickup device is arranged on the internal bottom surface side of an armor body 1 and memory substrates 12 on which memories which are used as storages for at least temporarily accumulating picture information to be recorded in a digital form are arranged above the board 14. Then an interface circuit board 13 for control is put between the substrates 12. Since standardized memory cards available on the market or memory substrates of the same form are used as the incorporated memory substrates, the man-hour for development of this electronic image pickup device itself can be reduced and, in addition, memory substrates with guaranteed reliability can be used as the memory substrates themselves.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic imaging device, particularly an electronic imaging device having a storage for storing recorded image information at least temporarily in a digital manner. Regarding equipment.

[Prior Art] Image information captured by an electronic imaging device using a conventional image sensor or the like is magnetically recorded on a floppy disk, or recorded as information converted into digital form on a memory card containing a solid-state memory. It had been. and,
In recent years, mass production of the above memory cards has progressed, and low cost, high capacity and stable quality products are now generally available on the market. Therefore, it is increasingly likely that the memory card will become the mainstream recording medium for electronic imaging devices.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] On the other hand, in conventional electronic imaging devices with a built-in memory section (storage), when trying to develop a new memory section, it requires a large number of man-hours to develop the memory section. Furthermore, it is necessary to reconsider the quality of the memory section, which makes it difficult to reduce costs and requires a long period of time for development.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic imaging device in which a storage device having a circuit in the same manner as a memory circuit section applied to a memory card is used for storing image information. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic imaging device of this type that is low cost, highly reliable, and can significantly shorten the development period.

[Means and operations for solving the problems] The electronic imaging device of the present invention is an electronic imaging device having a storage for storing recorded image information at least temporarily in a digital manner, The storage is characterized in that it is constructed mainly of circuit blocks of the same type as a memory circuit section applied to a memory card of a predetermined standard.

[Example] The present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic imaging device illustrating one embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a photographing lens 2 and an autofocus distance measuring window 3 are located on the left side of the front surface of the exterior body 1 of the imaging device.
and an auxiliary light window 4 are provided. Further, a strobe light emitting window 5 is arranged on the right side of the front surface. And exterior body 1
Main switch button 7. Release button 8. A zoom operation button 91, a display panel 10, and a hold grip section 11 are arranged. Furthermore, a power source battery cover 6 such as a rechargeable secondary battery is disposed on the right side surface.

Further, a main circuit board 14 for sequence control of the imaging device is disposed on the bottom side inside the exterior body 1, and above it, a main circuit board 14 is provided for storing recorded image information at least temporarily in a digital form. A memory board 12 on which a memory, which is a storage, is mounted is provided. One or more memory boards 12 are stored. A control interface circuit board 13 between the memory boards 12 is interposed therebetween. Furthermore, on the rear surface of the exterior body 1, there is a terminal 1 for outputting a video signal of the captured image.
5 are arranged. In this embodiment, the number of memory boards 12 is determined to correspond to the memory capacity that allows the number of images required for imaging, so the memory boards 12 are not attached or detached during normal use, and therefore the memory No insertion/extraction opening for the board 12 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electrical circuit of the electronic imaging device. In this figure, subject light captured through a photographic lens 2 forms an image on a CCD 22, which is an image sensor, and the image signal is input to an imaging system circuit 23 composed of a process circuit and the like.

The video signal output from the imaging system circuit 23 is A/
The signal is converted into a digital signal by the D conversion circuit 24 and then stored in the buffer memory 25.

Subsequently, the video signal stored in the buffer memory 25 is subjected to data compression by a data compression/expansion circuit 26, and is transferred to the storage on each memory board 12 selected by the interface circuit 13a on the interface circuit board 13. Memories A12a, B12b, Cl
2c, -...X12x is written to the memory area of the memory. Each of the above-mentioned memories is connected to each of the above-mentioned memory boards 1
It shall be implemented on 2. The memory selection by the interface circuit 13a is performed by the memory A12.
After writing to a is completed, the writing destination is sequentially selected to be changed to the next memory B12a.

Note that each of the memories A12a to X12x is not developed exclusively for the device in question, but mainly includes circuit blocks in the same manner as a mesori circuit section applied to a removable memory card of a predetermined standard. It is assumed that it has been configured. Therefore, the performance or quality of the memory A12a etc. can be considered to be equivalent to that of a memory card.

Furthermore, the number of memory boards 12 on which the memories A12a to X12x are respectively mounted may be one or any number, but since it affects the size of the exterior body, It is necessary to select a number.

In addition, as described above, memory A12a to memory X12
The reproduced compressed video signal written in x is outputted to the data compression/expansion circuit 26 via the interface circuit 13a, expanded to the original digital video signal, and then temporarily stored in the buffer memory 25. Then, it is converted into an analog video signal by the D/A conversion circuit 32, and is converted into an analog video signal by the amplifier circuit 33.
The video signal is output from the video output terminal 15 to the outside as a video signal.

The photographing lens 2 is driven for focusing by a lens drive circuit 21, and the CCD
22 is driven by a COD drive circuit 44. Furthermore, the COD drive circuit 44 and the imaging system circuit 2
3. A/D conversion circuit 24, D/A conversion circuit 32. The synchronous drive signal for the buffer memory 25 etc. is provided by the drive pulse generation circuit 4.
Output from 3. Then, the system control circuit 40
The lens drive circuit 21. Controls the drive pulse generation circuit 43, power supply circuit 42, and other control elements of this device. Further, instruction signals for imaging recording, reproduction, etc. are outputted from the operation unit 41 to the system control circuit. The image storage capacity and memory storage state of the built-in memory board are displayed on the display panel 10, for example, as the number of captured frames and the number of uncaptured frames.

The photographing operation of this embodiment configured as described above is as follows: C0D
The imaging signal taken in via the imaging system circuit 23
The video signal in digital form is stored and fetched into the memory A12a to memory Xi2x built in the exterior body 1 via the memory A12a to the memory Xi2x. Furthermore, if it is necessary to transfer and record the video onto an external recording medium, it will be reconverted and output as a video signal from the video output terminal 15 for recording.

According to the imaging device of this embodiment, as for the built-in memory board, a commercially available memory card that has already been standardized is used, or a memory board of the same type is used, so that the device itself cannot be used. The number of development steps can be reduced, and furthermore, the reliability of the memory board itself can be guaranteed. In addition, there is no need to insert or remove the memory card unlike in conventional imaging devices that use removable memory cards, and therefore there is no need for a memory card insertion/ejection port, eliminating the possibility of dust or other particles entering the device. . Furthermore, the connector for connecting the image memory does not need to be particularly durable against attachment and detachment. Alternatively, the connector connection described above is not necessarily required, and a fixed connection may be used.

When changing the specifications of the memory capacity of the present imaging device, it is not necessary to newly change the control circuit, etc., and the specification can be changed by simply increasing the number of memory boards on which memories are mounted. Furthermore, at the time of specification determination, depending on the purpose of use of the imaging device, the number of memory boards may be reduced and the size of the exterior body may be reduced if the number of imaging frames is limited.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, since the electronic imaging device of the present invention incorporates a storage having a circuit block in the same manner as a memory circuit section applied to a memory card,
According to the present invention, since a commercially available or standardized memory card or a memory board of the same type is used for the storage, the number of memory-related development steps is reduced, and furthermore, the reliability of the memory itself is guaranteed. can be realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an electronic imaging device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the electronic imaging device shown in FIG. 1.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An electronic imaging device having a storage for storing recorded image information at least temporarily in a digital form, the storage having the same form as a memory circuit section applied to a memory card of a predetermined standard. An electronic imaging device characterized in that it is configured primarily of circuit blocks.